A Vision of Hope
by Celestial Lady
Summary: When a college student is summoned to Middle Earth for her special gift, she is forced to learn more about herself and her gift. However, her wild and stubborn nature could make things even more difficult for the fellowship. Please R and R


A Vision of Hope  
  
Disclaimer: Lord of the Rings belongs to J.R.R Tolkien. All new/original characters belong to me.  
  
Author's note: Okay, okay.I know it's a common theme.you know.original character being transported back to Middle Earth, but this one's different, I promise! First of all, in this story, the trilogy, Lord of the Rings, had never been published. Second, my main character isn't "perfect".  
  
Chapter One  
  
Are you sure it's not Monday?  
  
Katie "Kit" Brandon sighed as she glanced at her watch for the tenth time in five minutes. Groaning inwardly, she pushed a stray golden tendril of hair out of her face and struggled to listen to her philosophy professor as he droned on about the Immanuel Kant reading that she had been assigned to read for the lesson. Trying not to fidget, Kit wondered what in the world she had been thinking when she had accepted a full scholarship to a private, all girls' college and transferred from a major university. All these girls did was study and talk about how much money they had. Luckily, she was able to stay at home and not in a dorm. Even staying at home was better than living at an all girl's school.  
  
Trying not to draw attention to herself, she quietly slid out a small sheet of paper from under her textbook and scribbled a note to her friend Allison. 'Geez.I thought it was hard at the University of Texas, but this takes the cake. I've never worked so hard for C's in my life. Are you going to Club West Side tonight? -Kit' Folding it in half, Kit pushed it toward Allison, who picked it up and read it.  
  
Before she could answer, the professor dismissed the class, and Kit jumped up, throwing her notebook into her book bag. As she made her way out into the hall, she turned to Allison who was glaring daggers at her.  
  
"What's wrong?" Kit asked, taken aback by her expression.  
  
"You know, Kit, if you have such a problem with this school, why don't you just go back to UT? I used to think I was a pain, but you've got me beat," Allison spat. "Welcome to private school. That's what you get when you start off at a public university."  
  
As Kit stood there in shock, another friend, Janelle, walked by and exclaimed, "Yeah, maybe the world would be a better place if you did go back to the University of Texas."  
  
Kit's look of surprise quickly faded into a cold glare, when both Janelle and Allison quickly dismissed her and continued down the hall together, deep in conversation. Desperately trying to control her temper, she snatched her truck keys out of her pocket and stormed out of Kent Hall. When she reached her truck, she flung open the door and jumped in, taking deliberate deep breaths, trying to calm herself. As she put her keys into the ignition, she noticed something shiny on the floor on the passenger's side. Recognizing it as her tire gauge, she bent over to pick it up and put it back in the glove compartment. However, when her fingers brushed the metal, a vivid image of her right front tire exploding flashed in her mind.  
  
Sighing, Kit slid out of the driver's seat and proceeded to check the pressure in each of her tires. They were all fine. Shrugging, she got back in her truck and pulled out of the parking lot and onto the main road.  
  
'Weird.' she thought. 'These signs have always meant something before.' Not giving it any more thought, she popped a CD into her CD player and cranked up the volume trying to get away from the harsh memory of her so called friends' retorts. As she flew up the acceleration ramp, onto the interstate, she glanced in her mirror and winced when she saw an eighteen wheeler roaring up in the lane beside her. Gasping as the driver didn't move over, Kit saw her lane end and the road with it but she had no where to go. She gritted her teeth as she jammed her foot on the brakes and then heard a loud pop coming from the right side of her truck.  
  
Groaning, she slid across the seat and got out on the passenger's side to inspect the noise. When she realized that both her right tires were blown, Kit pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and called her best friend Brian for help.  
  
  
  
About thirty minutes later, Kit handed her keys to the technician at Tire Master and grimaced when he handed her the receipt.  
  
"There goes another two hundred dollars." She sighed.  
  
Brian smiled as they walked out to his car, "It could have been a lot worse."  
  
"Maybe," she sighed. "It's been one of those days."  
  
As they pulled out of the tire store, she told him about what Janelle and Allison had said.  
  
"Actually, I'm seriously thinking about going back to UT. I don't have any problems with leaving this place. I guess I've gotten stuck in party mode and I'm definitely at the wrong place for that."  
  
He regarded her carefully, "Well, I haven't told you yet but I'll be leaving. I've decided to join the military and I'll be heading off to basic training."  
  
Kit looked at him in shock. "When did this happen? When are you leaving?"  
  
"Next week," he replied. "I didn't want to say anything to anyone until it actually became final."  
  
Nodding, Kit stared out the window as Brian rattled on and on about his upcoming adventure. She was so lost in thought that she didn't even notice when they pulled up to her driveway.  
  
Snapping out of her thoughts, she exclaimed, "Well, thanks for the ride, and oh.um.call me before you leave," and watched as he drove off down the road.  
  
Walking up to her house, she flung open the door and made her way to her room. Pulling the crumpled receipt out of her pocket, she wanted to smack herself. She should have been more careful. She reached for a small notebook and a pen and proceeded to right down the vision and the outcome. Glancing over the previous entries, memories came flooding back. She remembered the dreams and visions she had had. They had always been fun, trivial events until she had a dream that her grandfather had cancer. He was diagnosed three days later and died within a month. After that, they ceased being fun.  
  
"Why does this happen to me?" She whispered. "I can't control it, and I don't understand it. Why?!"  
  
Throwing the book and pen down, Kit lay back on her bed and closed her eyes. 'Why?' she asked herself once again.  
  
  
  
Kit felt a sudden drop in temperature and opened her eyes. As she looked around what should have been her bedroom, movement caught her eye. Sitting up, she looked at the intruder, a tall man with long dark brown hair and pointed ears.  
  
Before she could say anything, he smiled, "Welcome to Rivendell, Katie Brandon. I'm Elrond, and I brought you here for a great purpose." Motioning for her to follow him, he continued, "Come, there is much explaining yet to do." 


End file.
